Currently, residents of a small village in Ecuador lack a sanitary place to bathe, wash clothes and dishes and collect water, leading to the recurrent bacterial and viral infections that are a result of bathing in, drinking and preparing food with the contaminated river water and the lack of an enclosed area for human waste. The town center is located on a hill slope and the open area above is the designated area for defecation. Babies, children and mothers repeatedly suffer from diarrhea due to this lack of sanitation, leading to malnutrition and dehydration which inevitably effects school attendance and performance.

This project aims to provide two small, but densely populated barrios, with a small facility of dry compost toilets and rainwater showers that are cost-effective and environmentally sustainable. These facilities will serve as replicable models for this community and potentially 15 surrounding communities.

Because this community lacks a consistent supply of running water, dry compost toilets are the most environmentally effective model, as no water is necessary to function. The water for the showers will come from a rainwater system that will also provide a safe storage for drinking water. Water from the showers and washing clothes and dishes will be directed to soak pits in an effort to avoid further destruction of the terrain, and eliminate this gray water and potential black water from flowing into the river. Additionally it would prevent the formation of standing water that encourages mosquito breeding.

Along with the construction of improved sanitation, the children and parents will complete a series of classes taught by recently trained high school students on the necessity of proper sanitation that will cover topics, including but not limited to, the importance of containing human waste and eliminating standing water and how this can improve the quality of life. Furthermore, this project will allow the community to serve as a model for surrounding communities in an effort to show the importance of proper sanitary conditions that would benefit thousands.

The community will offer all of the manual labor and when possible, will use local materials, but the Peace Corps Partnership Funding will contribute to the bulk of material costs and transportation to this remote location.